Never Grow Up

I don't believe in growing up. From a very young age, I was taught to see the world with a sense of wonder and magic. I was raised on "Fairy Dust," if you know what I mean. If you "know what I mean," then you understand the sparkly way that I see the world. If you don't know what I mean, then I need to shower you with fairy dust, and quick! 

Now, I am not saying all I see is sparkles, rainbows, and Neverland. (Though I have seen a lot of rainbows lately....) Obviously, I see and feel reality, too. I am very aware of the crocodiles that lurk in the water, waiting to pounce for a piece of me. 

Despite my ability to believe in the magic of life, there are times when I lose hold of my "happy thoughts," and my ability to fly above the thick crocodile-clouds of confusion. If I don't make a concerted effort to nurture my happy thoughts, I can start to sink, and my fairy dust can lose its potency. 

That is no fun. 

But, most of the time, I am able to see life in a magical kind of way. Most of the time, my heart is light and happy. I say this often, but I do believe you can be happy and sad, at the same time. There have been times where I have felt really happy, and really sad, in the same moment. Unlike Tinkerbell, I can feel more than one thing at a time. 

However, in order to really fly... happiness has to be the more powerful force, and focus, to achieve flight. 

As the song says: 

Think of the happiest things

It's the same as having wings

Take the path that moonbeams make

If the moon is still awake

You'll see him wink his eye

You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!

Up you go with a height and ho

To the stars beyond the blue

There's a Never Land waiting for you

Where all your happy dreams come true

Every dream that you dream will come true

When there's a smile in your heart

There's no better time to start

Think of all the joy you'll find

When you leave the world behind

And bid your cares goodbye

You can fly! You can fly! You can Fly! 

What a beautiful song! 

I have learned, over the years, that "Fairy Dust" is not something that is acquired, it is something that is created. And the ability to "fly" and be happy, requires a proper dusting of the golden Pixie glitter. I have discovered that the more creativity that flows from myself and my family, the more we feel joy and happiness. It does not really matter what we are creating, but there is a very satisfying feeling in creating something -- anything. 

You see, the thing is, happy thoughts are powerful, but the real power is in happy actions. 

If we do things that cause us joy, we are much more likely to feel joy! I know, such a profound concept, right? 

We are designed with a need to create! Inside each of us are divine sparks of creativity, just waiting to be ignited into a fire.  

A fire of joy! 

Creation = elation. 

This summer, in our home, we are allowing our creativity to flow freely, and the magic is starting to glow in our hearts.  

Let the fairy dust fly! 

Here is Sammi working on a sign for our front yard.

 The finished result.

 We are infusing our home with the beauty of Peter Pan, and other heart-warming quotes.

 The sign is over the door, so my children remember to stay young at heart.

 Painting is really a fun and therapeutic thing.

 Henry has been getting in on the action.

We went running in the rain. It was... magical? Sort of. There were magic moments though, even though we were soaked, it was exhilarating.

 I am super happy about this lantern. And Sammi made the sign underneath it.

I rested on the couch one afternoon, and Sammi started playing beautiful piano music. I fell right to sleep.

The Young Women attend Relief Society in church, once a month. Sammi was sitting next to me last Sunday, while our friend, Melissa, taught. She teaches with gusto and fire, and Sammi takes notes of everything. One thing Melissa said just randomly in her lesson was, "We don't have time to waffle!" For some reason, it made me giggle, as I watched Sammi write it down in her notes. We both agreed it was the most profound thing taught that day. No time for waffling! My question is, do we at least have time for pancakes? ;)

On one of our walk/jog outings, we stopped by to see the owls in the church parking lot. We knew they were there again, because of the poop on the ground.

 There were a bunch of them in the tree. They are so cute! We are pretty sure they are Hogwarts owls.

 We stayed and watched them for awhile.

 It is amazing how much cooler it is down on the trail by the river. It has been so pleasant here lately, the weather has felt like summer in Alaska! So nice!

 I love taking my family out in nature. I am grateful we have nature so close to home.

 There are always beautiful things to see.

 Flowers make me happy.

The song "A Whole New World" was playing, and Henry wanted to pretend he was on a magic carpet ride. Sammi got to play the part of Genie, and make his wish come true. Though it was slightly painful, for her. You can see our "Creative Construction Zone" on the counter.

We have had the paint and creations on the counter for a few weeks now. Normally, that would drive me crazy, but not during the summer.

Banana Bread. Yum. If you want a magical smell... banana bread does the trick. I wish I had a candle that could recreate the smell. I have yet to find such a glorious smell in wax form. I doubt you can fake the smell of the real deal. Part of the glorious smell is in the creation of something real and tasty!

I love magic moments like these, when my children are loving each other. 

The Cottonwood trees were snowing. I know it is not a glorious sight for many who have allergies, but the cotton was floating so gently to the ground, it looked like snow in the summer. It was beautiful, even though it was also yucky. See... there it is! Something good and bad, at the same time!

 Just hanging around.

Sammi sometimes grabs my phone, takes a crazy-selfie, and changes my background to it, just for fun.

Another creation, for the kitchen...

Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland is my FAVORITE!

 Sammi put "war paint" on Henry.

 Silly face.

I tried to capture a nice picture here, but I was out running, and I had to go to the bathroom really bad at this point. Nature called, so I had to get out of nature, and find a potty!

I love it when the sun shines through the trees, it creates sparkles on the ground.

LEGOS! SO. MANY. LEGOS!!! Good for creating, right? My feet hurt just looking at this picture. If I had a dollar for every Lego I have stepped on, I would have a lot of dollars.

 Sammi has some innate art ability going on inside of her...

 It is fun to see what is artistically inside of everyone.

Her finished product.

 Another sign...

 William made this awesome Peter Pan. He looked at a picture, and freehanded it.

I went to Michaels and JoAnn's and stocked up on some paint, brushes, paper, and some canvases.

 I love finding the piano with stacks of music books on top. Sammi loves to pull out all her books, and she will just sing and play her heart out.

The Young Women went on an overnight campout to the Bruno Sand Dunes. I am excited to hear how it went.

I have been painting too. I seem to be drawn to trees... and I have zero idea what I am doing. I feel like I paint at a third grade level. I will keep at it though, maybe I will have Sammi teach me her ways!

 Would someone like to psycho-analyze me by my paintings?

A tree split into light and darkness, with hearts as leaves... hmmmm... I wonder what I am trying to tell myself?

This is really random... but I noticed this typo in a recent forecast, and I thought it was funny. Hmmm... a high of 5,477 degrees? Whew! That is pretty hot!

This is a picture from the day Daniel received his Patriarchal blessing. It was a very special day, and his blessing was very beautiful. I will not share details about it here, but at the very end, the Patriarch cried, put his hands on Dan's shoulders and said, "Your dad is very proud of you." 

Daniel is currently at Scout Camp, and so we miss him around here. But, he is having a good time, working at the Rock Wall, and living it up in the wilderness. 

I know my children have to get older, but I never, ever, want them to grow up!

I want them to stay young in their hearts, forever.